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Is social media the great equalizer?

Liberté, égalité, fraternité, French for “Liberty, equality, fraternity“ – is the French national motto that has inspired this post: Is social media the social equalizer?

Events such as the French revolution, leaders like Martin Luther King and Barack Obama, make us all wish these three words were true.

Social media seems to congregate intellectual freedom, equality and fraternity. Sure, we will tend to lean towards people like us, sharing the same values as us, the same ideals; however, mutual respect and acceptance will come from our thoughts, output and virtual manners.

The 3 words resonate as follows:

Liberty of thoughts, of information; liberty to share what we are about. It is really up to us to decide if we want to put it all out there, whether we are a hotshot offline or a regular person trying to make it;

Equality – whether, we are a woman, a man, disabled, black, white or blue, we have the possibility to build a share of voice as much as another. We establish our credibility with our hard work .

And finally, fraternity, because, social media has managed to break down, at least, a few barriers – social and physical. The importance is that We are humans and we care!

Am I too optimistic to think that our physicality is not as important anymore? Most of us have a profile picture that gives a limited glimpse into our being, some will use avatars, and also others will use company logos. Whatever the decision, visualizing who we are talking to remains of small importance in building meaningful relationships.

I deeply hope that social media will succeed where politics, society and religion have mostly failed. I believe social media can bring us together on a more noble level where indeed, it is What we are, Who we truly are that matters.